Thill-strap fastener.



R. G. FETZER.

THILL STRAP FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED APE.23,1909.

949,175. I Patented Feb.15,1910.

UNlTED STA'ILlEl BIPENT OFFICE.

RILEY C. FETZER, OF WOOSTER, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THOMAS E. GEORGE, OFWOOSTER, OHIO.

THILL-STRAP FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 23, 1909.

Patented Feb. .15, 1910.

Serial No. 491,869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RILEY C. Fn'rznn, a citizen of the United States,residing at \Vooster, in the county of l/Vayne and btate of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Thill-Strap Fastener, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in thill-strap fasteners. Itsobject is to provide improved means for detachably securing thethill-strap of a harness to the thill of a vehicle so that it may bereadily detached therefrom either by hand, or by forward tension thereonwhen the tug or trace becomes unfastened, thereby preventing accidents,and improved means for quickly detaching the harness from the thill. Itsobject is further to provide improved means for securing the thill-strapto the inner side of the thill and avoid rattling and the possibility ofits becoming detached inopportunely.

It consists of a plate solidly secured to the inner side of the thill atthe usual place of attaching the thill-strap, said plate provided with araised portion parallel therewith, and an intermediate wedge shapedsupport therefor, adapted to detachably secure underneath said raisedportion an openringed clip, the open ends of which bend inwardly in theform of hooks, and said hooks being adapted to slight spring actionagainst said intermediate portion in the hollows thereof, as hereinaftermore fully set forth and claimed.

My invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which-Figure 1 is a side view of my invention; Fig. 2 is a top view of thesame, and Fig. 3 is a detail view of the spring clip and adjacent parts.

In the drawings, similar characters of reference indicate like parts.

Referring thereto, 1 is a section of an ordinary Vehicle thill; 2 is theplate, and 3 the raised portion of the device, the upper surface ofwhich is preferably made triangular and extended lengthwise to a roundedpoint; the base of said raised portion extends downwardly to the plate2, and is furrowed out underneath the angle 6 to receive the hooks a aof the clip 4, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The intermediate portion 5 solidly supports the raised portion 3 in sucha manner as to form longitudinal furrows on each side immediately abovethe plate 2, said furrows extending from the front 0, where theyapproach each other, to points Z) 1) near the base aforesaid, from whichpoints they deepen respectively to form hollows for the hook ends (1 (1.The open clip 4t is made preferably of spring metal, and the holdbackstrap 7 may be attached to its closed end in the manner shown in Fig. 1.construction the hook ends a a rest snugly in said hollows, and thusprevent rattling of the parts and the accidental detachment of theholdback strap from the thill by the resilient action of the clip l, andsaid clip may be detached with slight force when drawn in forwarddirection, as shown by dotted lines 4t.

The plate 2 may be secured to the thill by screws .9 s, or othersuitable fastenings.

I am aware it is not new to construct a hold-back having catches on bothsides combined with an open link having ends adapted to engage saidnotches, and such I do not broadly claim.

My improvement lies in the novel construction of an intermediatewedge-shaped support having opposite hollows at its base adapted tosnugly engage therein the resilient ends of an open link or clip, incombination with a laterally projecting raised portion forming with saidsupport opposite grooves which incline toward each other along saidwedge shaped support, said notches being adapted to afford someresistance to the escape of said clip ends therefrom, to preventrattling of the adjacent parts and the accidental dctachii'ig of theclip, and affording means for more easily attaching and detaching thesame through said inclined grooves when drawn therealong to and fromsaid notches.

I do not limit myself to the exact form of the several parts, as thesame may of course be varied within the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is 1. A thill strap fastener, comprising aplate having a raised portion, opposite side furrows terminating inopposite hollows at the base of a wedge-shaped support underneath saidraised portion, and an open clip, having resilient ends hooked inwardlyand adapted to be dctachably secured in the By this 7 hollows of saidbase, substantially as set forth.

2. In a thill strap fastener, the combination with a plate secured to athill, a raised portion terminating at the base of a wedgeshapedsupport, opposite side furrows between said plate and said raisedportion terminating in opposite hollows at said base, and an open clipprovided with resilient ends hooked inwardly and adapted to rest snuglyin said hollows respectively, and to be detached forwardly through saidfurrows when forced out of said hollows, substantially as set forth andfor the purpose specified.

Witness my hand this 27 day of March, 1908.

RILEY G. FETZER.

lVitnesscs HIRAM B. SWARTZ,

H. S. BAKER.

